Archive: Posts from September, 2004
September 30th, 2004, 5 Comments »
On occasion today, while walking swiftly around Gnomedex, I’ve noticed that I feel a little dizzy and my heart starts pounding. Am I falling love? Having a stroke? What’s up? Stupidly, I couldn’t figure it out, until it recently occurred to me that I’m 6225 feet higher than I usually am.
Then I remembered the first time I came to Lake Tahoe, when I was about 10. It was the one and only time I tried downhill skiing, and it didn’t last long. After taking a lesson in the morning, I skied down the bunny hill and promptly fainted at the bottom. My aunt, who was with me, had no idea what to do. She just lied, told me to put my head between my knees, and fed me M&Ms, assuring me that the sugar would rejuvenate me. So, it’s not that I’m now terribly out-of-shape–I just have a sea-level body.
5 Comments »
September 30th, 2004, 1 Comment »
Why haven’t I been reading Freedom to Tinker for years? Regardless, today they have a chart illustrating how entertainment consumption habits have changed over the past five years. The illuminating fact is that consumption in most categories has increased, but listening to music has declined by 22%. I wonder, could that be because of the utter crap the music industry has been foisting on us for the past decade?
In truth, it’s probably more to do with divergence, and the emergence of a bunch of new entertainment options such as cell phones, PVRs, gaming platforms, etc.
1 Comment »
September 30th, 2004, 8 Comments »
Over at Grrl Meets World, Becky has posted a debate drinking game:
Drink One Sip If:
Anyone says “terrorism”
Anyone says “Halliburton”
Anyone says “flip flop”
Anyone says “Saddam Hussein”
Anyone blames “the media”
Anyone mentions their own military service
Anyone says “September 11″
One candidate interrupts another candidate
It goes on from there. I watched a bit of the debate–boy, was that a study in opposing styles. Not to be a snobby Canadian, but I’m down in the Gnomedex lounge area, and I’m a little dismayed how many apparent smart people aren’t watching the debates. I suppose they could all be Nader supporters, or disapprove of the debate process, but I’m still kind of surprised.
8 Comments »
September 30th, 2004, No Comments »
8 hours, two flights and a shuttle (bus, not space) later, I’m successfully ensconced on the eleventh floor of the megahotel-cum-casino that is Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. My room is laughably ornate, and offers two bathrooms, both with televisions and phones. I sniffed out the second-floor conference area, where all of the Gnomedex magic is supposed to happen. In my immediate view are no less than nine scruffy men in the lounge, all typing on laptops. It’s all a bit incestuous, frankly. Two other men are stringing brightly coloured banners from the ceiling. No expense spared, apparently.
No Comments »
September 30th, 2004, 3 Comments »
Via a rather dark story on BoingBoing, I learned about the Pitcairn Islands, a tiny island group halfway between New Zealand and Peru. It has a residential population of 47, and generally sounds like one of the more remote places on the planet. You can see a bunch of photos of Pitcairn Islands here.
3 Comments »
September 29th, 2004, 3 Comments »
Jason Mitchell is a friend of a friend and a local singer/songwriter originally from White Rock. This Saturday he’s playing a show at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Here’s more from my friend’s email:
The show is this Saturday (Oct 2nd) at 8pm at the Vancouver East Cultural Center. The acoustics there are great, and this show will be even better than normal. We are really trying to fill the place up, so if you have no plans, please come on down. You will not be disappointed. I guarantee it!!
I haven’t seen Jason myself, so I can’t really comment. Nonetheless, they’re recording a live album and DVD at this event, so I imagine he’ll be, to use the vernacular, givin’ her.
3 Comments »
September 29th, 2004, 4 Comments »
Tomorrow, with slight trepidation about the subheading “Geeks Gone Wild”, I’m going to Gnomedex. What follows will be two solid days of geeokisity of the highest order. I’m interested in most of the sessions, so much so that I may find little time to explore Lake Tahoe. I haven’t been there since I was a kid. In fact, aside from airports, I haven’t spent any real time in the US for years. I may skip the panel on security and Wil Wheaton’s speech. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but he’s not quite the uber-brain influencer that many of the panelists are.
Regardless, my weblog over the next few days may be heavily Gnomedex-centric. Apologies in advance if this doesn’t float your boat.
4 Comments »
September 29th, 2004, 1 Comment »
I’m really lucky to live in Vancouver. Not only are the surroundings gorgeous, but I think the city itself is extremely well-planned. Sure, there are serious problems, but I think the city has done a decent job of evolving for all its citizens.
On the weekend, George Wainborn Park opened across the street from my building. It’s a really cool park, and quite different from David Lam Park around the corner. The Georgia Straight described it well recently:
The north end of the park, by Richards Street, features a large circular fountain and a European-style arrangement of benches, lamps, and lawns. From this terraced area a grassy slope descends to False Creek and the seawall, lit up at night by two rows of large obelisk-like concrete structures. The landscaped meadow and thin lines of birch, American oak, and maple trees give the area an open and somewhat formal feel. The park is named after late Vancouver parks-board commissioner George Wainborn, who was involved in its planning and design.
All the cool kids are using Flickr, so I’m giving it another chance. Julie and I both had work to do last night, so we took our laptops down to the park. I took a number of long-exposure photos, and then used Neat Image (thanks, Ray), to reduce the digital noise in them. They’re not perfect, but it certainly made an improvement, and it’s an easy utility to use. I kind of dig this one of Julie, working away.
1 Comment »